Keyboard mechanism



Dec. 13, 1927.

V 1,652,294 G. W. BEADLE KEYBOARD MECHANISM Filed Aug. 13, 1926 I l I Il Patented Dec. 13, 1927.

rnonen w. BEADLE, '01 NEW YORK, 1e71,. nssreifocw'romemvrnem LINOTYPECOMPANY, .ecomonxmron on EWYORK;

' mi mnn maximisin- A plication-messing: 13,1926; vserial'yno. exams,

:Thisinvention :ihas reference tofkeyboard mechanisms, such .as are,{employed Vin-com- 'rmercial linotype machines. In these :ma-

ohin'es fihe escapements controlling ;the dis toliwr ge ofithe matricesfrom 'thea'magazine rare-ordinarily actuated by vertical 1 reeds-mpier'ated by :pivoted :yokes .or levers, eachconetaining iavrrotary camor eccentric which is adeptedzto mmket peripheral contact with enunderlying zconsta-ntly irritating rnbber cov- 1 iereda-roll. The xpivoted 'yokes are held nor-i melly wifihrtheir cemsat restend outofcontaot with the -:1:ubber-;eovened 11 0111 and-ere released lhyzthemanipulation of i finger keys, ll whieh ipermit :the'acmns to fall intoengagement with theldnivingiroll and be :rotated 1 thereby :to raiseithe'ryokes and; operate @the escapements. iIn ipractiee, .ithe :lif ekof :the

- 'rnbber covenrolls is comparatively short by reason of w'ear and otherdeterioratinginflu- -ences; and hence it is :necessary ,at times toremove the worn rolls .ztnd c-substitute znew ,onhne 3 3 oi Fig, 11,;and

ones; involving. considerable expense-and oc- --'cas1on1ng anuchunconvenlence :nn'd ;loss .of

w timei ln addition, sthe wear of the rolls,

' oftentimes :results :in the :failure of. the escepements to respondItQ IbhGJaGtHatiQHOf thG the' :eamyo'kest Furthermore, and Without 0"regard' to :thezquestion of .wear, -consideralifle slippage-takes placebetween the cams :and the IllbbGF EO-VBIGdiIOH'Sidllliillg theirrdrivingengagement, and especially when oil finds its way' onto the:ro1ls,.:res1i1ting in a delayed actuation of the inlatrixereleasingescapements, and thus giving rise to transpositions-"dfm'zttricesiinrthe composediline. 7 H ke ;present inventionis-wintended :to .do away with thei:rlihbencovered. rolls aind their 4oattendant objections, and contemplates a simple, compact arrangementwherein :the "cams or -=eccentrics :are rotated-positively and theii'enga'gement Land :disenga gement with andirom :the driving-r011accomplished in a direct and reliable manner. In thegembodimentiHnstraied, itheocamsare zlooselyf mounted on a metalxdrivingiroll andare provided r with key-c0ntr01led:c1ut0h membersiaeting t'o e'oli pl'ethe cams :to or .uncouple :them irom po'the driving irol l, Ithe clatterzbeing'iformed -with 0nei0r :more "grooves "to rreeeive' teeth formed'on's'ther clutch members in;provid-ing changes and variations may bemade ethjerein stillbe comprised within its scope. It should ,heunderstood, therefore',v tha;t the invention 'lisnot lin'lited to.any-specificiformrorembodiment except in so far as such limitationsarespecified .in ethe clai-ms.

-Imtheadramings:

Fig.7 1 is a side elevation partly -in.,sec iron and broken away, of theimproved tkeyloom-xi mechanism as applied to a flinoftype inaghine andshowing .the keyboard partslat res, o

Rig: ;2 is a :similar; view hoard parts incineration};

Figs3gisa verticarhtransverse sectionitaken ,showing the key- Eig. a,detsiil perspcctive view of one tofithecamiunits As shown in -Fig.the,matrix (releasing -esc gpements A are actuatedrby a series ,of\verticallyqdisposed levers A through :the medium yet a; correspondingseriesof :rocking levers A arranged hetyween lthe upper ends of .thelevers A =an'dzthe esc pement .plnngers. Hihelower (ends of sa i Ilevers A are provided with anti-friction rollers A arranged to ridenponrotatehle camsor eccen- -trics B, egainst Whichw-they are 'yieldinglymaintained -by pull strings A connected to the u perJevers A 1 .As theparts ;areithus arranged, thecamsB when rotated .will rock vthe levers,A- ,A land actuate the associated .escepemcnts A (to .efiect jtherelease of the corresponding ima trices X, which vthen pass from .thegmagazi'ne .F 'into the assembler v throat ,Elfor colnpositionIinlinefin ,theinsual The cams B; according to the presentinwentionareilooselyrmonnted on :3 constant- .ly v driven metalhero 117B but erecapable of heing connected to and disconnected from said-011 .hy means:ofeurvedclutch paWls 'IB ;pivote,d 4113;]; to rthe sides of theca'rns;lThe cams B ,are provided with laterally extendits mode of ga pplieationwhich will sponding to the fin 4o tain the cams in uniforml s acedrelation on the driving roll 13 an a so to provide sufficient clearanceter the pawls H freely about their ivotal axes 6. These pawls B are eachormed with a tooth B projecting inwardly therefrom and arranged to engae with one or the other of a pair of diametrically opposite rooves Bformed in the roll B and exten ing throughout the len 11 thereof. Platesprings B, anchored to t e cams B and pressing a ainst one end of theattached pawls B tend constantly to draw the teeth B into en agementwith the grooves B, it being note that the hubs B are notched or cutaway to permit passage of the teeth therethrough. At their opp0 siteends, however, the awls B bank upon pivoted trip do s C whic hold themnormal disengaged irom the driving roll against t e tension of thespring B. These trip dogs as usual, are controlled by finger keys C trough a series of vertical connecting bars C slidably mounted in thekeyboard frame.

The operation of the parts is as follows: \Vhen a finger key C isdepressed, the connected bar C is ifted and the corresponding trip dog Crocked forwardly from under the clutch pawl B (seeFig. 2). The spring Bacts instantly to draw the pawl tooth B into driving en agement with oneof the roll grooves B. T e a propriate cam B is thus caused to rotatewit 1 the driving roll B and, as it continues to rotate, the associatedlever A is rocked rearwardly to the position shown b the broken lines inFig. 2 and, through t e lever A caused to actuate the escapement A forthe release of a matrix correer ke actuated. In the meantime, due to tkey, the free end of the trip dog C will have returned to its normalposition, so that when the cam has about completed its rotation, the

.clutch awl B will enga e the do C and its tooth 4 be lifted out ogroove B, thereby breaking the drivinw connection between the rotatingroll B and the cam B and allowing the latterto come to rest to await thenext actuation of the finger key (Fig. 1).

Many advantages characterize the improved construction. In addition tothose previously mentioned, it may be noted that the mechanism iscompact, self-contained, easily assembled, and inexpensive tomanufacture. Moreover, a single bank or row of the cam units willsuffice for all the finger keys.

vention.

As before stated, the foregoing improvements have been shown merely inpreferred form and by way of example, and obviously many changes andvariations may be made without de arting from the spirit of the in- %orexample, the number of grooves in the roll B might be materiallyincreased and even to the extent of making the to turn e re ease of thefinger required.

used b mounting them above an in contact p with t 1e cams B. These andvarious other changes will readily suggest themselves "to those skilledin the art.

Having thus described my invention, its a construction and mode ofoperation, clainrand desire to secure b Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is as ollows:

1. In a mechanism of the class described, the combination of a rotarydriving element,

what I a rotary driven element mounted loosely thereon and rotatableconcentrically thereof but capable of connection therewith, an;actuatinginember associated with the driven element, and means forcontrollingthe connection and disconnection of said element with andfrom the drivin element.

In a mechanism of t a class describedr:

the combination of a rotary drivingelelnent, a rotary driven elementnormally disconnected therefrom and rotatable eoncentri- 9 eallythereof, a clutch for establishing a driving connection between saidelements, am? actuating member associated with the driven element, andmeans for enga ing and disenga ing the clutch as requiretfi v n amechanism of the class described, the combination of a rotary grooveddriving element, a rotary driven e ement, a ivote clutch pawl carried bythe driven e ement, an actuating member associated with the drivenelement, and controlling means whereby the clutch pawl may be engaged:with and disengaged from the grooved driving element as required. a v

4. In a mechanism of the class described, the combination of a rotardriving element, a cam loosely mounted t ereon and rotat ableconcentrically thereof, a clutch for connecting the cam to ordisconnecting it from the driving element, an actuating memberassociated with the cam, and means for engagin r and disengaging theclutch. as require i i v 5. In a mechanism of the class described, thecombination of a rota driving elemen a cam loosely mounted thereon, a.pivote clutch pawl carried bythe cam and engage able with said drivingelement, an actuating member controlled by the cam, and means for makingand breaking the enga ement 0f the clutch pawl with the driving edementas 6. In a ke board mechanisnrof the class described, t e. combinationof a owe!- driven roll, a cam loosely mounted t ereon and rotatableconcentrically thereof, a keyactuated trip dog, and a clutch controlledby said dog for making and breaking the connection between the roll. andcam.

7. In a keyboard mechanism of the class described, the combination of apower-driven roll, a cam loosely mounted thereon, a keyactuated tripdog, and a pivoted clutch pawl carried by the cam and controlled by saiddog for making and breaking the driving connection between the roll andcam.

8. In a keyboard mechanism of the class described, the combination of apower-driven roll, a series of cams loosely mounted thereon androtatable concentrically thereof but capable of connection therewith, acorresponding series of actuating members associated with the respectivecams, and means for controlling the connection and disconnection of thecams individually with and from the roll.

9. In a keyboard mechanism of the class described, the combination of apower-driven roll, a series of cams loosely mounted there- 0 on, acorresponding series of actuating members associated with'the cams,pivoted clutch pawls carried by the respective cams for establishing adriving connection between the cams and roll, and controlling meanswhereby the clutch pawls may be individually engaged with and disen agedfrom the power-driven 'roll as required.

10. In a keyboard mechanism of the class described, the combination of agrooved I quired.

Intestimony' whereof, I have affixed my signature hereto. V

GEORGE w. 'BEADLE.

